Coach Jim Mora will join WDSU-TV's announcing team for its lengthy local pre-pregame

You couldn't blame Jim Mora for having allegiance issues during the run-up to last year's Super Bowl.

Jim Mora (1995) will join WDSU-TV's announcing team for its local pre-pregame and postgame coverage.

After all, he had coached both teams (Saints and Colts). In his opinion, however, the outcome didn't suck.

"When you talk about it right now, I get a little bit of chills, " Mora said. "I've known Peyton Manning since he was a little kid when I was with the Saints. I know the family. I know Archie real well. People asked me, 'Who am I rooting for?' There was never any question as to who I was rooting for. I was rooting for the Saints all the way.

"I was so excited to see them win that game -- for the city, for the team, for Mr. (Tom) Benson, for all the tough times that that city has gone through and the tough times that that team has had. I couldn't have been happier for the team or the organization or the city when they won the Super Bowl."

Mora, who will join WDSU-TV's announcing team for its lengthy local pre-pregame and postgame coverage starting at 3 p.m. Thursday (September 9), said the "Two Dat" task for the Saints this season is daunting.

"That's really hard, " he said. "Certainly, a big factor is avoiding any key injuries, so that's got to be the first thing that they do. It's hard to win one (Super Bowl), much less two in a row. I love the Saints, I root for the Saints, I think they do a great job, but I wouldn't bet on them repeating as Super Bowl champions again this year because I know how difficult it is to accomplish something like that. Everything has got to go for you. A few bad breaks here and there, and all of sudden you're not doing what you did last year."

"As far as making the playoffs, I think you'd have to look at the division they're in, and I think it's a winnable division for the Saints, " Mora said. "I think the only team that's going to really pressure them is going to be Atlanta. I don't think Tampa Bay is going to be a good enough team; I don't think Carolina is going to be a good enough team. I think Atlanta is going to be a good team, so if they can get by Atlanta they can win the division, so they will get in the playoffs.

"But as far as winning the Super Bowl again, or even getting to the Super Bowl again, that's a tough, tough, task."

Also a fair question: What about getting by the Vikings? Tonight's game has been promoted at near-Super Bowl volume. ("Turn it down!" said Paw-Paw Favre.)

"The first game for a team is always a little bit more special than the rest of them, and they're all special, " Mora said. "It's not quite like playing a playoff game, I don't think, but the adrenaline, the excitement, the anticipation is just a little bit more there than it will be next week. This is a team they beat in the NFC championship game to go to the Super Bowl. I think there's going to be a little bit of a revenge factor for the Vikings. They may think they should've won the game last year. Maybe they should've, but they didn't.

"It's going to be an exciting game. If they lose it, is the season over? Not by any sense. To win it would be a good accomplishment."

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Fans of "Treme" should be sure to tune in for one segment of WDSU's pregame: Wendell Pierce -- a New Orleans native who plays Antoine Batiste in the HBO drama and confirmed Who Dat -- does a dramatic reading interpretation of off-season Twitter trash-talk between Saints safety Darren Sharper and former Vikings teammate Visanthe Shiancoe.